Title: Melbourne's City of Boroondara brings in goats to weed
The City of Boroondara say they are always on the lookout for different ways to tackle weeds in their open spaces. That’s why residents may have noticed some new 4-legged weed-management machines in sections of the Koonung Creek Reserve in Balwyn North recently. A small herd of 11 South African Boer goats has been introduced here as part of a trial to help keep weeds at a minimum. Goats are known to target woody weeds and exotic grasses over native grasses, and using them to manage weeds is considered a sustainable alternative to brush cutting and herbicides. At Koonung Creek they are tackling kikuyu grass and panic veldtgrass. Goats can also get to hard-to-reach areas that are unsafe for humans to access, such as creek and river banks, and steep embankments. The City's resident goats will be strategically moved on and off site until June, and if the trial is successful, residents may find weed-munching goats in other areas of Boroondara in the future. Residents are welcome to watch and take photos of the goats, however, they are warned not feed, pat or touch them. Residents are also warned to keep dogs on leads around the goats’ fenced area. Hopefully this initiative at the City of Boroondara will assist them to stop using toxic cancer-causing glyphosate in their other parks and gardens, as the goats say "We don't like eating agrichemicals, give us organic please!"
Article: WeedsNews5979 (permalink) Categories: :WeedsNews:goats, :WeedsNews:councils, :WeedsNews:non-chemical control Date: 2 April 2023; 10:03:23 AM AEST
